The view may be spectacular, but the risks are real – and something needs doing about it very quickly indeed. The ground began to move enough to set off sensors planted in the cliff-side near the road at Cleeve Hill.
Officials have been monitoring the state of the cliffs for months.
Coastal erosion has already led to the closure of the Blue Anchor Hotel and may mean that the B3191 (now closed to all traffic) will have to be re-aligned.
This is a major problem for all the official agencies involved.
I have already visited the site to discuss what may be done and I am liaising with County Councillors and – if it becomes necessary – I will also be taking up the issue with Ministers.
The B3191 may look like a meandering seaside backwater but it links two important caravan parks and is an emergency diversion whenever the A39 suffers a serious hold-up or requires repair. In other words we cannot afford to ignore it.
I now await an engineering report on the state of the cliffs. But we must face up to the possibility the road may have to be moved inland.
